Methodological advancements in Life Cycle Process Design: A preliminary outlook

Abstract

This paper deals with the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for process design, and presents the initial findings of this analysis qualitatively. The work identifies a need for a methodological development of Life Cycle Process Design (LCPD). This is underpinned by a broad literature review. The literature review shows that the application of LCA as an environmental design instrument is recognized in literature. In contrast to that there is hardly any hint which role Life Cycle Costing (LCC) could play within environmental process design. Most interesting in this line is, how LCA and LCC can be combined for environmental process design to be finally the core instruments of LCPD. The applicability of LCA and LCC within LCPD is shown on the example of a novel biorefinery process under development. Both instruments (LCA and LCC) are already applied during basic process development in this work, parallel to laboratory research. The aim is to identify potential environmental threats at an early stage of process design and also to give a hint on economic feasibility. Additionally a trade-off between environmental and economic issues can be drawn out. On the basis of this analysis the role of LCA during process development is highlighted as well as difficulties and challenges are emphasized. One of the major obstacles is data availability for LCA as well as LCC in the basic design stage of a biotechnological process. The findings of this paper serve as basis for the methodological development of LCPD. It is emphasized that conducting LCA and LCC during basic process development can reveal some relevant action areas for process engineers, which may influence technical as well as economic feasibility. The results presented have to be understood as a first outlook and provide key aspects for future research on the topic of accompanying basic process research projects with LCA and LCC to support future sustainable process design.